Disclaimer

This game ended on an error for me, BUT it is not the normal error that most people fall to (namely, the missing Mid1 file.) I DID solve that error myself and pushed through to continue playing the game. However, after a few days' enjoyment I reached the Mecha Base dungeon, which unfortunately results in a 'DirectShow Unspecified Error' which crashes my game without fail... whatever the hell that actually means. If there's a solution to this and someone provides me with it, then I shall promptly continue the game and give a better review once finished. The error does not appear to effect everyone though so I shall review the game based on what I experienced, rather than docking points for the error that ended it for me. I'm nice like that.

Introduction

This is a Final Fantasy fangame, taking six FF characters (Cloud, Tifa, Squall, Tidus, Yuna & Auron) and transplanting them into a different world. The game has the feel of an older FF in the 1-6 era, though with some battle features similar to the more modern games. For the most part, you alternate between two parties of three - the FF7/8 party and the FF10 party.

Story
The story is relatively simple from what I've experienced, though as was said I could not complete it. The game begins with an original character, throwing you into a battle you aren't meant to win. The opening is odd and full of unanswered questions, though I would assume it ties into the later story. Cut to Cloud and Squall! The two wish to journey to the Whispering Cave, though not much is given as to their reason. Tifa later joins them, and when we meet Tidus' party we find that they too are making the same journey.

What I've played has mostly been their quest, moving from continent to continent. The alternating parties adds an interesting flavour, though it's sadly underused as you spend FAR more time with Cloud's company than with Tidus'. However, the story is ultimately quite solid, albeit simple.
Score: 4/5.

Characters
Obviously, our leads are from Final Fantasy. For the most part the characters are true to their counterparts, though it's not difficult to capture the personalities of Cloud and Squall (ie. dull.) Cloud seems a little too animated at times and Auron's sentences should definitely be shorter, but otherwise their portrayal is fine. Other characters from FF and even Chrono Trigger are seen as NPCs in the first towns, though the NPCs become generic characters once we reach the second continent, which is disappointing. Dialogue is fine, though typos occur throughout which, as a writer, bugs the flying ninja zombie crap out of me. They aren't too terrible, however. (Though, seriously, SAFTEY SUIT? -SAFTEY-? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?)

I will say that I would probably not have chosen the same six to focus on were this my game. Of course, everyone has their favourite characters, but Cloud's party in particular seems... unbalanced, to me, with Squall deferring to Cloud's lead. This is purely in character terms, not gameplay. We'll get to gameplay soon.
Score: 3/5

Gameplay - Out of Battle
Okay. Mostly, this is fine, but there were a few glaring issues. Firstly, many areas in the game broke my menu. If this was intentional as a challenge then this is acceptable, but the issue was that going into the world map with a broken menu did not fix the menu until I walked into a new area. That was a pain. Secondly, anyone on a laptop (as I was) is going to have a MAJOR difficulty when completing the Ice Caves dungeon. The prime feature of this is a Hero's Realm-esque party-swap feature, exploring two dungeons at once and working with each party to reach two goals. Issue is, the partys swap via the '+' key. Laptop keyboards generally do not include this. The only solution for me was to plug in a USB keyboard for that section. This was not exactly wonderful. Otherwise, the game played fine.
Score: 3/5, minus a point for each issue.

Gameplay - Battles
A great mix of really cool and really annoying. An ATB system, the gauge moved fast enough for quick, enjoyable battles.

The cool - The variety! The magic - or 'ether' system is very FF but with an interesting spin. Limit breaks WERE good but there's an issue I shall get to. Yuna's summons are terrific, and the inclusion of many techniques over various Final Fantasy games is to be commended. Battles were quite fun and it was satisfying finding a boss' weakness at times. Example - the Ultros fight completely destroyed me once, then I discovered that constantly barraging him with Thunder spells seemed to halt his actions.

The -OH GOD MAKE IT STOP - Limit Breaks above Level 1 broke for me. For Cloud, Squall, Tifa and Tidus, there are four limit attacks and you select which one to use. You only have Level 1 at first, but repeated limit uses unlock the rest, much like Tidus' Overdrives in FFX. However, Limits above Level 1 caused the battles to freeze. This is a shame, but is made worse as although you can use Level 1 limits, they become less useful as the game goes on. It's a pain because when you hit a limit break, it replaces your attack button - you MUST use the limit unless you use an ability. When your limits hit for less than your criticals and you critical hit 50% of the time? This is a pain.

The Ehhhhh.... - Auron's bushido is a very nice system, but also somewhat of a pain. Unlike in FFX, each attack costs Auron - or the whole party - in HP, an amount specific to the attack. Also unlike FFX, you don't select the attack - you select 'Bushido', then press the button combo for the attack... having to memorise which one you wanted. This would be okay were there not an incredible number of different attacks. Many people could use this quite well, but it doesn't really work for me. I won't count this for or against though, since it's too subjective for my liking.
Score: 3/5

Music
I loved recognising the Final Fantasy tunes! Quite nostalgic for me, the music fit in quite well. I don't generally have a lot to say regarding music, so I have no complaints here.
Score: 5/5

Mapping
Looked good! There were some errors where one could walk into places you shouldn't be able to, but mostly the designs were easy enough to work with and meshed together nicely with the rest of the game.
Score: 4/5

Conclusion
Quite a fun game in the end! I'd love to continue playing it, but I don't really know what a Directshow error entails so it seems I'm soundly screwed in that regard. From what I've read, others haven't encountered this error so I highly reccommend playing it! Just... not with a laptop keyboard! The game has it's flaws, but ultimately it is playable and enjoyable so long as you accommodate its issues.
Score: 4/5